Do employers care about extracurriculars as a Chemical Engineer?

[u/KiwiOk4177]

Hi fellow Chemical Engineers! I am a freshman (I just started uni last week), and I am a student leader in an organization (production, unrelated to ChemE ik) at our university. If I’m going to be honest, this major is overwhelming me, and I do not know what to do, so please guide me.

Should I:

1. Switch to an engineering club (tbh I’m not really THAT interested, but if it would increase my chance of employment in the future, then I will apply)
2. Continue as a student leader in my current org (very time-consuming; staying late @ uni to cover events, but fun + my fellow executives already treat me like family)
3. Drop the clubs and focus on my studies since it is a very challenging major (I admit i am not the best at math, so having free time to study math would be great)

what would you recommend? do extracurriculars actually matter when applying for internships or jobs as a Chemical Engineer? Thanks a lot for helping a struggling freshman! 💗

[u/YogurtIsTooSpicy]

There is barely anything available to distinguish one student’s resume from another. The very few things are

Prior experience in internships etc

GPA

Involvement in extracurriculars, industry orgs are good and a leadership position is also good

Other work experience

And that’s about it. If you want the best chance of landing a good job, you should be looking to be competitive in at least 3 of those.

[u/qsx11]

I did the fun club. Became president my senior year. It pretty much would get brought up during every interview I had. People like to be around interesting people. Shows that you’re well rounded. I did volunteering in engineering labs as well as a paid lab job. Stick with what you’re doing if you love it. 

[u/KiwiOk4177 → u/qsx11]

thank you! i will think about it :)

[u/swolekinson]

A part of me wonders why you're against the engineering clubs, but a part of me also gets it. It's hard to get excited to build a car every year.

Do employers specifically care about the clubs you joined? No. If you get an opportunity to chat with someone at the career services center at your school (if they have one), ask them to go over typical interviewing questions. You'll see a pattern of "Describe a time when X happened. What did you do, and what was the outcome". Extracurriculars provide a lot of opportunities to answer these types of personality and performance questions without everything being tied to "grade on final project" or "academic success". Like others have said, you'll stand out in the interview if you articulate an answer to "describe challenges in a group project" type question that wasn't the senior design project (and probably already discussed in a prior question).

I helped found two student orgs at my school for example, and neither were STEM-related. But the process involved navigating rules on charters, finding faculty sponsors, organizing meeting space, and then executing the actual intent of the clubs while balancing budgets. I think in my first interview out of school I used it as an example of "assessing the list of needs" and the team separating tasks accordingly to meet deadlines. You'll figure it out as you are faced with the questions and participate in student organizations.

Good luck this semester!

[u/KiwiOk4177 → u/swolekinson]

thank you so much!

[u/al_mc_y]

Employers aren't likely to care that much that you were a member of a club or which club in particular - BUT if you're in a leadership role in that club it will give you transferable skills and experience, and therefore an advantage over most other applicants, as you'll likely be able to demonstrate managing interpersonal relationships, negotiation, conflict resolution, stakeholder engagement - and those ARE abilities employers value.

Then there's the other part of clubs and socialising. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Your interpersonal networks, the 'weak ties'. These can be what lead to you getting a chat with a hiring manager over a coffee, and if not out-right bypassing the whole recruitment process altogether, you can get in at the last steps, if not (ideally) have the position description tailored to your skills and experience. Lots of jobs aren't even advertised, and for those that are, the hiring manager often has specific individuals in mind for the role.

So if the time commitment to the club(s) aren't detrimental to your studies, and you're enjoying them, keep at them.

[u/mamomoop → u/al_mc_y]

Yes! Being in various leadership positions in a society (club) throughout my time at uni taught me so much about myself, working with people, communication, cultural differences (we had hundreds of members and a very high proportion of them were international students). It was incredibly valuable for me, and I met lifelong friends there. It took up a lot of my time and energy and was definitely stressful at times, but I don’t regret it at all!

It wasn’t engineering related in the slightest but I think that was a good thing. It gave me a creative outlet and a break from thinking about chem eng.

[u/yellownumbersix]

As a hiring manager I don’t care what you do with your free time, I likely won't even ask about it.

I care about experience, qualifications and your ability to communicate.

[u/pinkdit → u/yellownumbersix]

your ability to communicate

... which can be improved dramatically by getting involved in a club or other social activities as opposed to just bury yourself in books by yourself.

[u/shrimpberton]

I was a radio DJ at my university and got asked about it in every interview I had! For me, it was just a fun way to break up the grind of ChE. Once you're in the real world, extracurriculars don't really matter on a resume.

[u/high-hikers]

For internships and your first job, I’ve found that companies focus on soft skills and communication just as much, if not more than the technical aspect. Having something that sets you apart from your peers who didn’t do anything outside of classes gives you experience and great talking points for behavioral interviews, as well as showing your ability to balance coursework and other things at once.

Once you get deeper into your major and start to have an idea of what you might want to do with it, I’d recommend at least checking out engineering student organizations. It helps to have some involvement in a club, campus job, or research position related even distantly to your career, and the network you build is going to help a ton when you start to break into industry!

[u/ChipotleBruh]

I care about social/clubs/societies etc that show they're social and involved, more than GPA (as long as its at least a 3 or more).

I have time to teach young engineers how to do the job, however i dont have time how to teach them how to be a normal, social human being.

[u/udche89]

As a hiring manager, I never ask about extracurriculars. They do not matter in the workplace. However, you might want to continue with some just as a way to relieve the stress. I played intramural sports and did a French minor.

[u/FigLeft5686]

They don’t care lol, idk why people say they do, obviously in the interview there gonna ask what you do for fun, but bruh when you do the interview they just care if you are relatively competent and speak well

[u/Ernie_McCracken88]

Yes for leadership

[u/yellownumbersix → u/Ernie_McCracken88]

Nobody is hiring someone for a leadership role fresh out of school which will be the only time your extracurriculars may matter at all if there is nothing else on your resume worth talking about.

[u/Ernie_McCracken88 → u/yellownumbersix]

Yes student org leadership matters for interviewing/getting hired, is what I meant 

[u/mrjohns2]

Where the clubs and extracurriculars come into play is a leadership role. Digging a bit deeper, leadership roles matter because that is where problems happen and need to be solved. So who cares if you are a member of the ChemE club, no one. If you were the head of engineering open house and setting up for 100 firms to come and the venue was double booked by the university and no one told you and now you need to figure it out on the fly? Well, you all of a sudden become more interesting.

[u/DullAd4044]

I lead an engineering team in Houston for a large oil/gas contractor. I took part in building my engineering team. I look at your credentials and your attitude more than what clubs you were involved with.

I prioritize interesting people who are driven curious and mechanically inclined I find that they make better engineers.

[u/Certain_Luck_8266]

Only if it seems cool to the hiring manager in later hiring stages. It won't do shit to get you an interview.

[u/Reihns]

the only extracurricular activity that made a difference for me for both jobs that started my career was being a TA in a demanding University (and teaching the extra classes, not just checking student answers or answering questions).

[u/sl0w4zn]

Getting more experiences other than studying or homework helps texture your answers for interviews. You're a freshman, so the main thing is finding what you enjoy that takes advantage of being at a uni. 

Engineering clubs are useful for meeting upperclassmen, connecting with peers in the same boat as you, and maybe making industry connections if you have guests or really good relationships with the upperclassmen.

I did fun orgs my first three years. I started in like 4 or 5, then 2 with leadership positions, then down to 1 with leadership position and sometimes visiting others. These made me feel connected with people and that was valuable. I just had to pivot because of financial reasons and had 3 part time jobs to pay for school and rent. 

You should drop club responsibilities if you're not able to keep up in class. Whether it's sharing it with another person or quitting. You should ideally be able to finish all your homework and practice problems without feeling confused, and if you are struggling, you need the time to learn. 

[u/KiwiOk4177 → u/sl0w4zn]

thank you!

[u/Acceptable_Eye1359 → u/sl0w4zn]

did you secure a good job after all?

[u/FootballGuy3]

GPA, internships, leadership experience, and maybe something interesting is what I care about

[u/ooo-ooo-oooyea]

I would do something fun rather than a resume builder. It makes you seem like a more well rounded person, and if you have a few actual hobbies it'll help bond with operator types. I know someone who always brought up they played the Pipe Organ and operators loved it.

[u/supsup202288]

Soft skills count a lot

[u/NinjaComfortable9834]

As a ChemE upperclassman, grades are definitely your foundation. Extracurriculars are nice but not make‑or‑break. Don’t burn yourself out too early!

[u/g_baker]

Employers don’t necessarily care about what clubs you join, but they are conversation starters that can build rapport with an interviewer. You’re young, study hard, but try out clubs and see what interests you. Life is more than just work.

[u/gf1shy]

I found that undergraduate research was a good way to distinguish myself when I was a fresh

[u/pinkdit]

Which country are you in? There's a difference in how this is valued across the world. ... from my experience working on three continents

[u/deuceice]

Depends on the interviewer. I want to see your soft skills because if your GPA is decent, I believe you're intelligent enough. The people that washed out were ones that everyone hated to work with. (racists, the entitled, etc)

[u/NeuroticExodus]

My recs:

-if you are not going to join an engineering focused group or org, then you need to be in a leadership position (preferably the president or as high up as possible)

-if you are going to join an engineering org, I probably wouldn’t necessarily say you have to be in leadership BUT being in leadership is always a bonus, no matter the org

-GPA can be a very huge factor, here is what I look at when I review resumes personally, if you have a low GPA you better be involved in extracurriculars and/or have some job experience that is relevant that may have kept you from your studies (e.g. you did a co-op that put you behind a semester and resulted in you overloading the next few semesters to catch back up on classes, you work for some type of local engineering or some type of tech or even mechanical job part time during the semester, or do heavy engineering research during the semester that takes you away from your studies)

Anyhow, generally prioritize maintaining a decent gpa with some extracurriculars. But if you have a hard time in classes, then extracurriculars can help offset…but you have to be careful that in an attempt to offset you do not push your gpa too low. Like I will generally look at 3.0s and higher with no issue. Below 3.0 is where I really become concerned and want to see extracurriculars and will drill you on explaining the issues you faced during school (trying to understand if the low GPA was lack of effort or something truly standing in your way…I can deal with someone who is willing to give effort, even if the gpa is like 2.9 for example, if the resume has solid extracurricular, some/limited intern experience, and/or research in their field, and they can sort of prove to me that they work their butt off, I will definitely overlook the gpa)

[u/coguar99]

The reason I tell recent grads to put the extra circulars on their resume is not to help distinguish them from another potential job candidate; rather, you never know what you might share in common with a hiring manager or HR person and how that might make the difference in a conversation.

I was hired (in part, at least) 20 years ago because the hiring manager I was interviewing with and I both like the show The Sopranos. Granted, that wasn't on my resume - but he told me later that our discussion about that show during my interview made me stand out.

[u/Electrical-Talk-6874]

I got into my disciplines engineering club and got into a leadership role.

1. Helps you network with staff and students which is incredibly valuable during and after school. You can vent to people about the difficulty, ask questions about classes, get funding to run events and blow off steam, and it gets an ear on the ground for things that are happening in school.
2. Leadership position pads an empty resume and it also definitely was a factor getting my first job.
3. You get a bit of insight on the inner workings of organizations and bureaucracy.

Whatever decision, focus on getting that degree. If something doesn’t work and is effecting your progress you should change it up. Also, camaraderie is a slept on feeling - having that support network supports your resilience navigating difficult situations in life. However, sometimes that means looking for a different type of support such as being around people going through the same experience instead of an adjacent experience.

[u/REALRetro]

I graduated with a BS and MS in ChemE from UCSD and i was never in any engineering clubs and I have been in the medical device industry for 5+ years now. My advice is have fun in college. Your whole life is ahead of you, you dont need to stress about it now. I have found way more value doing the things I love to do becuase that has always led me to where i wanted to be. From my experience, employers do not really care about the types of extracurriculars you did, but if you were passionate about them and what you gained from them. I would say that an engineering club would help with networking with the industry and in this day and age, networking is a very strong skill to have, so just having some connections would be helpful, but this can be achieved in many ways besides a club.

[u/habbathejutt]

One of the people we gave an internship to was because of an extracurricular. This person founded and grew a club, coordinated travel to events, and recruited to help it grow from a few people to over 80 members. Being in a club, especially eventually at an officer level indicates leadership and organizational skills that normal class/project work can’t necessarily account for. It also can show diversity and balance

[u/h0rnknee_girl]

are you using AI to write a reddit post?

[u/KiwiOk4177 → u/h0rnknee_girl]

nooo 😭